Employing more than 300 workers in the peak season and pumping around £50m into the local economy – heritage railways are a key part of the tourism industry in North Wales.

A recent study revealed that 45 years after the end of steam on British Rail, heritage railways are worth £250m to the UK economy – helping bring vital money into communities.

North Wales has heritage railways spread across the region – providing hundreds of jobs, both directly working on the services and in-directly through the 800,000 plus passengers that use the railways and spend money in the area. The study also said there was scope to increase these services with proposals in the pipeline in the area.

Gwynedd is the powerhouse of steam – with the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways alone employing 100 staff and putting £25m per annum into the economy. Research found an additional 350 jobs were supported by its services, which carry up to 400,000 passengers a year.

Traffic revenue grew by 18% on the Welsh Highland in 2013 and 12% on the Ffestiniog, which is the oldest operational railway company in the world.

As well as celebrating the past the services are looking to the future.

Marketing officer Andrew Thomas said: “We’re in the middle of a £1.25 million project to rebuild Porthmadog Harbour Station to accommodate Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland trains simultaneously – at present there is only a single platform for both railways. This will enable us to offer a much-improved service to passengers. Following on from this, an improved station at Caernarfon will follow.”

While the Welsh Highland is the longest of the UK’s heritage railways the Snowdon Mountain Railway(SMR) scales the heights others can’t reach.

The railway from Llanberis to the summit of Wales and England’s highest peak employs 100 staff over the peak season, including 40 permanent employees in engineering, admin and commercial roles.

The first train reached the summit in January 1896 and now around 135,000 passengers board the SMR carriages every year.

Vince Hughes, commercial manager, said: “This obviously has a positive impact for local accommodation providers and other attractions in the area.

“We are continually seeking to develop all aspects of our attraction and this does help to generate additional jobs depending on the particular project like the new summit building Hafod Eryri, SMR theatre, and engineering apprentice program.”

This is not the only railway in the town with the Llanberis Lake Railway taking 71,000 passengers a year around Llyn Padarn. The railway employs nine full time permanent staff rising up to 25 during the peak season, all local people. Like other railways they are marketed under the Great Little Trains of Wales (GLTW) banner.

David Jones, from the lake service, said: “The iconic GLTW brand and the high concentration of steam railways in such a small area serves to attract a significant number of visitors to Wales. No other place in the world has such a large concentration of heritage railways in such a small area, and all blessed with magnificent Welsh scenery.

“We’re all a little bit different from each other, we tend to complement rather than compete. At the moment we’re planning some small scale improvements to our services, by tidying up the appearance of some of our stations, re-building one of the platforms and planting gardens, extending outdoors the café seating area and installing information boards to increase awareness of our history and heritage.”

In Denbighshire a line has been re-created from dereliction between Llangollen and Carrog, taking around 150,000 passengers on a standard gauge line in 2012, with the 2013 figures expected to beat that.

Its 150,000 passengers from across the globe also provide a huge economic boost to the town.

Currently the railway is actively progressing the 2.5 mile extension towards Corwen and intends to operate train services to a new station at Corwen East in 2014 – providing an economic lift to the town.

Neil Evans, Chairman, Llangollen Railway, said: “The Railway’s draft financial figures for 2013 show both an encouraging and welcome increase in passenger and general turn-over figures – these are great aspects of news for all associated with our enterprise.”

A spokesman added: “The business, which was started off in 1975 by a so-called bunch of “puffer-nutters”, is now a force to be reckoned with in the area of the Dee Valley and far beyond.”

In South Snowdonia is the Talyllyn Railway, running from Tywyn to Abergynolwyn and Nant Gwernol, providing a vital boost to the rural economy by attracting more than 40,000 passengers a year. The organisation employs 29 staff in the peak season and has a turnover of £700,000, and puts £2m in the economy.

Ian Drummond, from Talyllyn Railway, said: “We are looking to build passenger numbers and this helps the wider economy.

“We have our 150th anniversary next year and we have some major things planned for that. We suffered in 2012 because of the flooding and we started to make a slow recovery from that last year and hope to build up number further. It is important to recognise we are a major economic player in this local area.”

Bala Lake Railway, which employs 11 people in the peak season, carries 19,000 passengers a year with very early plans to expand services.

Manager Roger Hine said: “The railways of Wales bring millions and millions into the local economy, I don’t think people realise how important they are.”

He said they were in the very early stage of exploring linking their site to the town. “Having a separate service from the station to the town would not only boost us it would also be a boost to the town. This is just an idea at the moment but one we are looking at very seriously.”